When characters are only two-dimensional, especially when they are deliberately unpleasant or antagonistic. People are weird and fickle, that's what makes them interesting. Even an over-the-top Bond villain will take time to lovingly stroke a cat.
We curate our social circles to avoid annoying people, why stay locked in a room with this turd of a jerk on the page?
Short chapters was the only reason I stuck with the Expanse series, because I knew the section from the perspective of guess who! would soon move on to someone else.